FAMILY DINNER ENDS IN TRAGEDY AS GRANDFATHER’S BOAT CRASH KILLS HIS TWO GRANDCHILDREN
FAMILY DINNER ENDS IN TRAGEDY AS GRANDFATHER’S BOAT CRASH KILLS HIS TWO GRANDCHILDREN
BARNEGAT BAY, N.J. — What was supposed to be a summer evening with family ended in unimaginable heartbreak for Jennifer Golabek, who lost both of her children after a nighttime boat crash on Barnegat Bay.
Her children, 9-year-old Mya Golabek and 7-year-old Sigmund Golabek, were aboard a 30-foot boat operated by their grandfather, 64-year-old Stephen Schneider, when the vessel slammed into a channel marker, according to prosecutors and court records.
The crash happened at about 9 p.m., shortly after the family had been out for dinner at MJ’s Restaurant Bar & Grill.
A FAMILY DINNER BEFORE THE FATAL BOAT RIDE
According to investigators, the family had spent the evening together before Schneider decided to take the children and other family members across the bay by boat.
Prosecutors allege Schneider had been drinking during dinner and was impaired when he took control of the vessel.
The boat was traveling through the bay after dark when it struck a wooden channel marker.
The impact sent Mya and Sigmund into the water.
Their grandfather and his wife pulled the children from the bay and desperately attempted to get them back aboard the vessel while emergency responders rushed to the scene.
Both children were transported to a hospital but could not be saved.
TWO CHILDREN, ONE DEVASTATED FAMILY
For Jennifer Golabek, the tragedy was particularly devastating.
Mya and Sigmund were her only children.
In a matter of minutes, the mother went from spending time with her family to facing the loss of the two people at the center of her life.
The crash has also left relatives and friends struggling to understand how an ordinary family outing could end with two children dead.
SCHNEIDER FACES CRIMINAL CHARGES
Schneider surrendered to authorities following the crash and was taken into custody at the Ocean County Jail.
He faces serious charges related to the children’s deaths, including second-degree vessel homicide/death by vessel charges and allegations involving operation of a vessel while under the influence.
Prosecutors allege alcohol played a significant role in the crash.
The case will now focus on Schneider’s actions before and during the boat trip, including his alcohol consumption, the circumstances surrounding the nighttime voyage and what led the vessel to collide with the channel marker.
Schneider is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.
QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN
The tragedy has raised difficult questions about the decision to operate a large boat at night after drinking, particularly with young children aboard.
For Jennifer, however, the legal proceedings cannot change what happened.
Her children will not be coming home.
Mya was 9 years old.
Sigmund was 7.
They were supposed to return from a family evening on the bay with memories of dinner and time together.
Instead, their mother is left mourning her only two children.
A family dinner became a fatal boat ride, and one mother is now facing a loss no parent should ever have to endure.
